1. Field
This invention is in the field of electronic games, and particularly relates to portable devices that present the player(s) with stimuli requiring suitable response within a limited time.
2. Prior Art
Previous toys of the type described above have generally required the user(s) or player(s) to respond by manipulating one or more switch handles or buttons. In the now-familiar electronic football or baseball games, for example, the switches often control the apparent position, attitude, or simulated thrust of a moving spot or shape that represents the player. The spot may be an illuminated lamp or grouping of lamps, or in the slightly related field of video-computer games the spot may be an elaborately shaped figure formed by the video screen technology. Another remote relative is the programmed learning device or question-and-answer game in which the student or player manipulates levers, buttons, or a keyboard to answer questions.
In all these examples the correctness of the human user's response is expressed entirely in terms of her or his manipulation of the mechanical input devices (switches, levers, buttons, or keys). In addition these examples depend on visual "problem-situation" stimuli; both the stimuli and the game rules deal with geometrical interactions of images.
In the hitherto unrelated area of mechanical toy design, some toys have been made responsive to sound. For example, some toy cars are made maneuverable by operation of a hand-held "clicker"--a device that emits a clicking or other distinctive sound to which the cars respond. These toys are generally responsive to the control sound whenever the toys are operating; that is, there is no query-and-limited-time-response pattern. Of course the criteria for "correctness" of the "clicker" operation are completely geometrical of mechanical--e.g., whether the toy executes desired maneuvers, or strikes particular objects.
No prior-art electronic games are known in which a user must respond acoustically (in particular, orally) to a game stimulus. Likewise no prior-art electronic games are known in which the correctness of each response is determined almost entirely on the basis of previous responses.
Some objects of the present invention are to provide an electronic game apparatus in which (1) a user must respond both orally and mechanically to game stimuli, and/or (2) the correct response at each player's turn is determined by the previous responses and by a fixed, predetermined set of rules that is known by all the players, and/or (3) visual-display stimuli do not form part of the criteria for correctness, except to the extent of designating which player is to respond.
A certain traditional parlor game involves a plurality of players counting aloud, each player in turn saying one number in the normal numerical sequence (i.e., "one, two, three, . . . ")--but with certain numbers replaced by a distinctive word or other prearranged sound. For example, such a sound replaces all numbers that either (1) have a certain numeral as one digit or (2) are multiples of that numeral. The numeral chosen for use in the game may be called the "base numeral." If the base numeral is nine, for instance, the distinctive word or sound replaces the numbers 9, 18, 19, 27, 29, 36, 39, and so on; if the prearranged word is "alligator," the correct sequence would include this segment: " . . . sixteen, seventeen, alligator, alligator, twenty, twenty-one, . . . ." A player errs when his turn arrives if he should say "seventeen" but instead says "alligator"; or if he should say "alligator" but says "eighteen" or "nineteen"; or if he becomes confused and is unable to make any response in the rhythm of the counting. Depending on the form of the game, either (1) a player who errs in any of these three ways may be expelled from the game, so that the number of active players decreases until only a winner remains (or some arbitrary count is reached at which all remaining players are winners); or (2) the sequence is continued with all the players remaining active, any errors giving rise only to amusement.
In this traditional game the group of players keeps track mentally of the numbers already spoken, keeps in mind the base numeral and the operation of the game rule, and verbally takes note of any player's error. It is accordingly almost meaningless to conceive of such a game being played by only one person. In fact, a relatively large group is usually used to provide an accurate referee of the correctness of each response, since there can be disagreements as to how far the sequence has progressed--particularly, for instance, when the game reaches a series of numbers such as that from 89 through 99, with base numeral nine. No prior-art device is known in which the playing of such a game is augmented by electronic apparatus to keep the count "straight," announce errors and recognize correct responses, and facilitate enjoyable play by a small number of players and even one player. One reason for absence of such apparatus may well be the greater difficulty, if not practical impossibility, of providing the necessary word-discriminating capability at low cost.
Thus further objects of the present invention are to provide a low-cost electronic apparatus that enhances the playing of a game analogous to the traditional parlor game described above, by indicating which player has the turn, keeping track of the count and rules, and indicating correct and incorrect play.